Robotics - News Articles

Jibo Social Robot Finally Launches for $899 After Three Years of Delays

Jan 06, 2026

ZDNET

Jibo, the $899 social robot with face recognition and relationship-building capabilities, finally hits the market after three years of delays since its $3.5 million crowdfunding success, as MIT-founded Jibo Inc. attempts to pioneer the first consumer social robot despite early performance concerns.

Robotics Consumer Products

AI Industry Pivots to Smaller Models and 3D World Understanding as Enterprise Adoption Accelerates

Jan 02, 2026

TechCrunch

AI companies abandon massive language models in favor of smaller, specialized systems while racing to develop revolutionary 'world models' that understand 3D environments, as enterprise adoption accelerates through new protocols connecting AI agents directly to business systems.

Foundation Models Agents Enterprise Robotics

MIT Creates Bumblebee-Sized Robot That Performs Somersaults and Could Transform Search-and-Rescue Operations

Dec 19, 2025

Dezeen

MIT researchers develop a bumblebee-sized robot weighing under 1 gram that flaps its wings 330 times per second, performs 10 consecutive somersaults in 11 seconds using AI-powered flight control, and could revolutionize search-and-rescue operations by navigating tight spaces within the next decade.

Robotics Research Disaster Response

Robotics Industry Faces 100,000-Year Data Gap as Companies Turn to Traditional Engineering to Bridge AI Divide

Dec 14, 2025

Science Robotics

Robotics companies face a massive 100,000-year data shortage compared to AI language models, prompting industry leaders like Waymo and Ambi Robotics to combine traditional engineering with AI to create commercial robots that generate real-world data while performing tasks like driving taxis and sorting packages.

Robotics Labor & Jobs Research

MIT Scientists Create Voice-Controlled Robot That Builds Furniture in 5 Minutes

Dec 07, 2025

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MIT researchers unveil revolutionary voice-controlled robot system that transforms spoken commands into fully assembled furniture within five minutes using AI-powered 3D generation and magnetic modular components, drastically outpacing traditional 3D printing while reducing waste through reusable parts.

Robotics Research Audio & Voice

Excelsior Sciences Raises $95M to Replace Human Chemists with AI Robots for Drug Discovery

Dec 04, 2025

Chemical & Engineering News

Excelsior Sciences secures $95 million to revolutionize drug discovery by replacing human chemists with AI-powered robots that break down FDA-approved molecules into 'smart bloccs' and reassemble them into new pharmaceutical compounds, promising faster and cheaper development while reshoring manufacturing to the US.

Pharma Funding Robotics

DOE Launches AI-Powered Robot Lab to Accelerate Bioeconomy Research 24/7

Dec 04, 2025

PNNL

The Department of Energy launches AMP2, an AI-powered robot lab that operates 24/7 to accelerate research on bacteria and fungi for producing chemicals, energy, and biomaterials, positioning the U.S. to compete in a bioeconomy projected to grow from $4 trillion to $30 trillion by 2050.

Science Robotics Public Sector

China Warns of Humanoid Robot Investment Bubble as 150+ Companies Chase Limited Use Cases

Nov 27, 2025

The Verge

China's government warns of a dangerous investment bubble forming in the humanoid robotics sector as over 150 companies flood the market despite limited proven applications, raising concerns about oversaturation and potential R&D funding shortages.

Robotics Funding Geopolitics

Sunday Robotics Unveils Memo, Autonomous Home Robot That Loads Dishwashers and Serves Wine After 2-Year Development

Nov 24, 2025

Business Insider

Sunday Robotics unveils Memo, an autonomous home robot that loads dishwashers, serves wine, and makes espresso, trained through innovative $200 gloves worn by 500 data collectors nationwide instead of costly traditional methods.

Robotics Hardware Funding

Physical Intelligence Raises $600M at $5.6B Valuation for 'Universal Robot Brain' Technology

Nov 22, 2025

Humanoids Daily

Physical Intelligence secures $600 million in funding at a $5.6 billion valuation, developing breakthrough 'universal robot brain' technology that enables 13 hours of continuous robot operation using advanced reinforcement learning across multiple hardware platforms.

Robotics Funding